Free yoga and healthy cooking classes offered by the Latino Diabetes Association began this week and will continue into May in the cities of Commerce, Maywood, South Gate and Cudahy. The classes are open to diabetics and those at risk of becoming diabetic, who over the age of 18.

The classes are designed to teach students in how to prevent and control diabetes, and teach ways to reduce stress, lower blood sugar levels, and improve heart health.

This year classes will be held for the first time in Commerce. classes at Bandini Park began April 10, and will continue each Tuesday through May 15 for a total of six weeks. Classes are from 6:30-7:30. The park is located at 4725 Astor Ave., Commerce, CA 90040.

In South Gate, yoga classes are being taught on Mondays, through May 14, from 6:30-7:30pm, at the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute located at 9605 State Street, South Gate, CA 90280.

Mi Vida Yoga Class- Monday’s from April 9, 2012-May 14, 2012 6:30pm – 7:30pm. The “Sabor y Sazón” cooking class are in Spanish only, and are held on Tuesdays, through May 15, 7-8pm.

In Maywood, yoga classes will be taught Saturdays, from April 14th to May 19, 12:45-1:45pm, at the Maywood Community Center located at 4801 East 58th Street, Maywood, CA 90270. Cooking classes are on Wednesday, through May 16, 7-8pm.

In Cudahy, yoga classes will be taught on Thursdays, from April 12-May 17, 6:30-7:30pm at Clara Street Park located at 4835 Clara St., Cudahy, CA 90201.

Starting this week, an environmental justice organization is hosting a series of events in the weeks leading up to Earth Day, April 19.

The events and activities, organized by East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, EYCEJ, will promote wellness and a citywide ‘Green Zones’ initiative to bring environmentally-friendly jobs to Commerce and reduce pollution from industrial and goods movement sources.

Most of the events are geared toward youth, but are open to families and people of all ages.

On Thursdays and Fridays in April, EYCEJ will hold free Zumba classes from 8-9pm at the EYCEJ Community Room, located at 5117 Kinsie St, Commerce, CA, 90040. Bring comfortable clothes and a water bottle.

On Tuesday, April 10, EYCEJ will lead a field trip around the city of Commerce, explaining the environmental justice movement and describing the impacts of industrial pollution. The tour, entitled “Commerce Environmental Justice 101,” will last from noon until 3pm, include a trip to a community garden in Bell Gardens, and begin and end at Veterans Park.

The tour will be followed the next day, April 11, with a “Green Zones Workshop” on green jobs, green businesses, and their campaign implement city policies and incentives to attract green jobs and businesses to Commerce. The workshop will be held 6:30-8pm at the EYCEJ Community Room, located at 5117 Kinsie St., Commerce, CA 90040.

On April 12, EYCEJ will host a gardening workshop called “Planting Green Visions from 12pm-3pm at Bandini Park. Plant a vegetable, flower, or fruit out of recycled materials. Bring a 2-liter soda bottle, which will be turned into a hanging flower pot.

At Rosewood Park on April 13, EYCEJ will give participants the opportunity to “speak out” through a community art project. The theme will be Visions of a Greener City, and will ask artists to envision their ideal Commerce.

Art, photographs and petitions created throughout the month will be presented to the city council at the April 17 city council meeting. The public can present their art or speak about why a healthy community, “aware of pollution and cumulative health impacts” is important to them.

And finally, on Earth Day, April 19, EYCEJ will hold a recycle art workshop at the Atlantic Library from 6-7pm. Children will learn how to create a guitar out of recycled materials, while parents attend a workshop on the Green Zones campaign. The library is located at 2269 S. Atlantic Blvd Commerce, CA 90040.